Preferred Citation

The Board of Visitors elected Barringer as the sixth
president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute on 17 May 1907.
Accomplishments of his administration included: entrance
requirements raised from four to fourteen units; a Farmer's
Winter Course established; summer school expanded. Barringer's
tenure as president was not a smooth one, hampered by several
investigations. From the start, he was determined to develop
the agricultural facet of the College until it was at least
equal to the engineering component, which caused some
dissatisfaction among certain alumni and faculty. In 1909, the
Chairman of the Alumni Association Welfare Committee, Lawrence
Priddy, attempted to have the Board of Visitors oust
Barringer. The Board ordered an investigation and a public
hearing was held 25 March 1910, at which Priddy's charges were
dismissed as "unwarranted" and "inaccurate." However, this was
not the end of Barringer's problems. In the fall of 1911, the
Board again called for an investigation when a former
Commandant of Cadets accused Barringer of "countenancing
immorality" on campus. The investigation concluded that the
charges were "without foundation." Having survived those
investigations, Barringer next ran afoul of Governor Mann, who
wanted the College to become involved in agriculture extension
work. Barringer did not agree, so Mann said he would appoint a
Board of Visitors antagonistic to Barringer if he did not
resign. On 10 June 1912, Barringer resigned, but the Board
asked him to remain in office another year until a new
president was selected.

This collection contains mainly incoming and outgoing
correspondence (1907-13) concerning college activities and
issues of Barringer's administration including: academic
standards; hazing; Hog Cholera outbreak (1908); fires;
prohibition; water/sewage system; refrigeration plant;
advantages and dangers of football. A few letters from
Barringer are to United States presidents: Theodore Roosevelt;
William Howard Taft; Woodrow Wilson. Also included with the
collection are the following items: ledger of Board of
Visitors Executive Committee minutes, handwritten (24
September 1904 - 1 November 1904 and 2 October 1906 - 12 June
1908); inventories (1908-11); letters of application for
faculty positions (1909); several items relating to charges
against Barringer by Lawrence Priddy, president of Alumni
Association, and ensuing investigation (1910); correspondence
and other items concerning Mess Hall investigation (1911);
purchase orders (1911); reports to the Board of Visitors
(1911); leases and contracts; report by Barringer to Board of
Visitors on professors, giving names, ages, teaching hours per
week, salary, degrees, and Barringer's personal remarks on
each (no date).